Hidden Truths
by Lynx Gunning
Summary: Tenchi is arrested by a mysterious branch of the GP and put on trial. He is pardoned, of course, but there is one judge who dares to challenge him. With several new friends, Tenchi must defeat the worst tyrant known in the galaxy. T/R


A/N: Well, sorry for all the folks that were following "Mustang", but it got too hard to continue. I've got it this time, I swear. While this may be classified as "AU", I find that it is simply a little . . . well okay, * big *, twist to the original background story of Tenchi Muyo. I actually avoid making an appearance in this story. Wow.  
  
Title: Hidden Truths  
  
AHCD: Guess who? Yeppers, it's Horsey again, bringing you the usual, boring disclaimer! Plain and simple, kids, Lynxey doesn't own Tenchi Muyo. Must I elaborate? No. I think not.  
  
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Tenchi woke to the inside of a cold, barred cell, the first signs of a helluva migraine making themselves known. The room he found himself in was dark, the only light coming from a small, fluorescent lamp in the hallway outside of his cell. He heard no sound anywhere near the cell, except for a light tapping, like claws on metal, echoing up and down the corridor, gradually growing louder with each tap.  
  
"Well?" A deep, male voice resounded down the hall. "What about the newbie? Is he awake yet?"  
  
"Not know, sir," replied a young female. "Not check on that end of cells in fifteen minutes. Last time I check, he asleep. Think maybe he have concussion?"  
  
"I don't care, Zira!" Snapped the man. "Dragoners aren't paid to * think *! Your kind are paid to follow orders without question! Do you understand me, Miss Lana'ar?"  
  
"Aye, captain. Understand." The woman's voice sounded defeated, sad, and forlorn. As heavy footsteps receded, the tapping resumed its pattern, although quicker and more purposeful. A shadow soon fell across the floor of Tenchi's cell, and he looked up to see a fierce-looking creature with a sharp beak, large talons, and a spiked tail. Nothing else could be seen in its silhouette. "I see you are awake finally. About time." The creature glanced back down in the direction from which it had come, laid its tall ears flat against its skull, and said in a kinder tone, "How are you? I noticed that those officers treated you roughly. I am sorry for what they did, Prince Tenchi, but they believe you are a criminal. You are wanted for murder, from what I have heard."  
  
"Wanted?" Tenchi asked groggily. "Wh- where am I? And who are you?"  
  
The creature hesitated, then leaned over to tap a talon against a keypad. Tenchi's cell was suddenly illuminated with a blinding white light. As the initial spots and pain faded, he was able to see just what he was talking to. The "creature" turned out to be the female he had heard. Her eyes were wide and orange, matching the color of her beak, which was lined with sharp teeth. The tall ears flopped lazily about like a rabbit's. Her entire body was covered in dark brown scales, and she wore what could have passed for rags.  
  
"My name is Zira Lana'ar. I am a Dragoner Lehkran," she finally answered after examining Tenchi. "You are on bored a prison ship bound for Wolf Island Lehkrah. Maximum security, sir. You are being taken straight to the Supreme Court, to be tried by King Brutus O'Malley, Prime Minister Jackaris Kayai, and Chancellor Kitten Roe. Ahklar be with you, sir."  
  
"I don't think I know those people." Tenchi sat up painfully. "What am I wanted for?"  
  
"For the murder of the space pirate Kagato. I know that sounds unusual, but it is the law of the Federation. Space pirates are held in high regard in our territories," Zira said ruefully, shaking her head. "I am sorry, Prince Tenchi."  
  
"Prince- ? You know who I am?"  
  
"Everyone knows who * you * are, m'lord. But- " she broke off, tapped the keypad once more to open the barred door, and stepped inside without bothering to close it. "Sir, forgive me. I speak properly in your presence."  
  
"What does that have to do with anything?" Tenchi regarded Zira warily, noticing how she wrung her hands nervously and constantly twitched at every sound. "I don't mind. Why did you talk that one way with that other guy?"  
  
"Sir?!?" Zira exclaimed. "You speak using slang while- while talking to a lowly slave of a Dragoner?!? What honor?"  
  
"Uhm . . . yeah. I don't think it's right that you should talk like you're uneducated around people just because they tell you to. They * do * tell you to, right?"  
  
"Yes, sir. It is law. Dragoners, except for the k'Leshka's, are forbidden to speak and act as equals among high-ranking Federation officials, Serforce officers, and planetary royalty. We are considered low-born, and therefore unworthy of being treated as equals. We are . . . considered ugly, and we do not seem . . . noble in the other races' eyes."  
  
"There has to be a race out there that looks ten times uglier than any Dragoner?"  
  
Zira thought about the question for a moment, nervously switching from one foot to the other. "Yes!" She burst out. "The inhabitants of Iruka! The Irukans are considered the ugliest of the Federation. But they are such great warriors that they are 'noble'. Dragoners are not good at anything except following orders."  
  
"Maybe that's just what the others * want * you to think. Everybody's good at * something *!" Tenchi shrugged. "So, what exactly do you think the Supreme Court will do to me?"  
  
"No worries, m'lord," Zira replied. "King O'Malley has taken up your side. His daughter is a pirate, so one would expect him to declare you guilty without one trial. But even he agrees that Kagato gave pirates a bad name. And the reports he has received from a very peculiar GP officer say that you have risked your life for Professor Washu, Princesses Ayeka and Sasami, and his own daughter, Princess Ryoko- "  
  
"Hold the phone!" Tenchi shouted. "Ryoko's a princess?"  
  
"Yes, of course," said Zira, slightly confused. "Did she not tell you? That is odd. Ryoko was always one to brag about anything and everything. Take my advice, mention Ryoko's safety and well-being under your care, and you will win the favor of Prime Minister Kayai and Chancellor Roe easily. But, I am afraid, Prime Minister T'imathi Leo, of Jurai, will not be so easily swayed."  
  
"I * am * Jurain prince, aren't I?" Tenchi hinted. "Why would the Prime Minister question me?"  
  
"Because Jurain royalty has no importance in their actual government. Sadly, it is a dictatorship, ruled by Prime Minister Leo. If he had not overthrown Airedayl . . ." Zira trailed off, her mind thinking back to a time when Jurai hadn't been as evil and black-hearted as it was in modern times. When it was still a Serforce commanded planet.  
  
the captain's voice rang out through the ship.   
  
"We are here," whispered Zira, "O'Malley Station!"  
  
"O'Malley- !" Tenchi was cut off as Zira hauled him out of the cell and slapped on a set of strange-looking bangles that quickly produced a chain of sparking energy between them. 'Handcuffs?' Tenchi thought. Zira roughly shoved him to a wide door on the opposite side of the hallway about four meters to the right of his cell.  
  
Tenchi imagined he heard strange voices, growls, and hisses as he was led through the darkened corridors, illuminated by lights that would flash on in sequence as he and Zira approached a certain area of the hallway. After several minutes of random turns, backtracking, staircases, ladders, and lifts, Tenchi was shoved into a bright white room with glowing paneled walls. Behind the white-lighted walls, sparks of energy surged across the circuits. There were four others in the room, all wearing the same sleeveless tanned animal hide shirts and ankle-length pants that Tenchi wore. One, a young woman who seemed to be Jurain, looked frightened, but the other three stood stock still and glared angrily at Tenchi, as though estimating how long it would take them to tear him to shreds. Each prisoner was accompanied by a Dragoner like Zira, although two of them were male.  
  
After standing on the cold white plastic floor for what seemed like ages, an order came over the in-ship com.   
  
As soon as the order was announced, the walls and floor glowed brighter and brighter until nothing could be seen. A few seconds passed and Tenchi felt a nauseating sensation. He didn't know it, but the transporter had begun its work, and he was being dematerialized. Just as soon as the process had begun, it had reversed itself, and Tenchi was greeted with the sight of approximately twenty heavily armed guards, most Dragoners, others who seemed avian in appearance, all pointing guns that ranged from the size of GP standard-size handguns to modified Panzerfausts.  
  
A black and tan ferret on one side of the soldiers, dressed in a white lab coat and wearing thin-rimmed eyeglasses took a step forward, looked at his translucent neon green clipboard, and said in a weak voice, "Barksley, V'lentak." A canine prisoner was shoved forward, and he bared his fangs at the Dragoner. "He's good. No weapons. On to the holding chamber! Now, Everex, Abigail. I wouldn't have expected it. No, she's good. Larson, Kit?" A rough-looking avian creature stepped forward. His features and colors resembled a Baltimore oriole's. "Ah, a Larson. Well, it seems you were smarter than your uncle. Good. Masaki, Tenchi-" The ferret froze and stared hard at Tenchi. "Good gods! He looks like . . . Yosho! Is he the one . . . from Earth? Amazing! He's good!" The ferret's eyes followed Tenchi and Zira as they inched their way through the guards and into an adjoining room.  
  
V'lentak and Abigail sat on one side of the small holding chamber, which was nothing more than a square room painted white with cedar benches lining every single wall. Tenchi took a seat beside Kit.  
  
"So you're a Masaki, huh?" Kit asked. "My name's Kit Larson, but you probably already knew that." The Oriole held up a talon to shake. Tenchi took it cautiously. "There! See, I wouldn't hurt you. Look, I'm only here because I happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. Barksley over there murdered some fella' on Jurai, and I got caught for it. We're both here so they can figure out which one of us did it! What're you in for?"  
  
"I killed Kagato," Tenchi answered somberly.  
  
"No kiddin'? More power to ya, kid! I would've killed 'im, too, if I'd had the chance. But, uh, why'd you kill 'im?"  
  
"He tried to kill Ryoko," replied Tenchi, feeling more and more guilty by the minute. "He had kidnapped her."  
  
"You don't say? Oh oh, there's Ventura! He must've tried bringin' that knife of his here," Kit whispered. "He's wanted for attempted murder. He tried to kill the badger chief, Lord Blackburn."  
  
"A chief?"  
  
"Yeah. Blackburn's a Senator of Lehkrah. Uhm, this place is on Lehkrah. Wolf Island to be exact."  
  
"What's the story behind the Islands. I've heard people talk about them, but . . ."  
  
"Lehkrah consists of four planets on only two separate orbits around Alpha Centauri. They are so close that you could look outside practically anywhere on one of the planets, and so another one. Each of the four planets is called an Island. The main planet is Wolf Island, followed by Tiger Island. They share one orbit. Then there's Falcon Island and Dragon Island, which are on the other orbit. I'm from Falcon Island. Our escorts here- " Kit pointed at Zira " -are from Dragon Island. The ferret doctor in the other room is from Wolf Island. They should call it Rat Island, 'cause there's notta wolf anywhere on the whole freakin' place! Oh, but King O'Malley wouldn't have it. The man may be a big-ass rat, but he's sharp. So's the Prime Minister. Kayai may be a velociraptor, but he's still smart."  
  
"A raptor!?!" Tenchi stared at Kit in surprise.  
  
"Yeah," Kit answered, confused. "Doncha got dinosaurs on Earth?"  
  
"They're all dead."  
  
"Whoa. Harsh," muttered Kit.  
  
"Alright, you low lives! Gittup!" A large Falconer, a cockatoo-like creature, stuck his head into the room and glared about at the prisoners. "We're headin' to the Supreme Court's chambers now. Ya'll best hope the 'officials' is in a good mood." He grinned maliciously.  
  
"Aw, the fun begins," Kit said sarcastically.  
  
///Lehkran Supreme Court\\\  
  
Tenchi, Kit, and the other prisoners stood lined up in front of the courtroom, awaiting permission to enter. Tenchi watched in awe as a centaur with a feline face and a Siberian husky-like tail stepped up the stairs and into the courtroom.  
  
"Chancellor Kitten Roe," Kit whispered.  
  
Soon, a velociraptor of all shades of blue hopped up the stairs, his large green eyes warily eyeing the prisoners.  
  
"Prime Minister Jackaris Kayai."  
  
A minute or so passed and, with a regal bearing that set him apart from Kayai and Roe, a tall, rangy brown rat with a mane of fire-red hair and sparkling blue eyes climbed the front stairs. Roe and Kayai had been incapable of wearing anything, but the rat wore a long, blue and silver cloak over armor that looked like silver and blue dragon-hide.  
  
"King Brutus O'Malley," Kit gasped in admiration.  
  
O'Malley stopped at the top of the stairs and waited for a large, unreasonably clumsy kangaroo. The kangaroo bent over panting beside O'Malley, who shook his head. The roo grinned at the rat, who smiled back, flashing large, buck teeth and fangs.  
  
"And Drehkan Prime Minister Boomer Kyleran Raven!"  
  
Kit's euphoria was drowned by his sudden anger as a giant, broad-shouldered tan lion with a sky blue mane and eyes passed O'Malley and Raven with an air of supremacy.  
  
"And, of course, the damnedest loser in the universe, Chancellor T'imathi Leo," Kit growled callously. "We're sure to lose with * him * here! Wait a minute- " Kit's face brightened. "We're saved!"  
  
Tenchi gazed in astonishment as a fierce-looking group of people stalked onto the scene. In the lead was a man who was identical to Kagato, with green eyes. He wore armor similar to O'Malley's, but his was green and silver. Behind him was a Dragoner wearing a variety of animal furs. A bulky black jackal stood on one side of the Dragoner, with a black she-cat on the other side. A black lion with a crimson red man and emerald-green eyes was behind the jackal, and beside the lion was a dog similar to a Saint Bernard.  
  
"Well I'll be!" Kit breathed. "Drehkan King IceStorm Drache, Bobby k'Leshka, Lord Anubis and Lady Bastet, Professor Nicodemus Frisby, and . . ."  
  
"And who?" Tenchi prompted.  
  
"Captain Dervish Airedayl, Jurai's old Chancellor. I'll bet this is a challenge to Leo's command!"  
  
"Who are all those people?"  
  
"Only the greatest Serforce captains to ever live! They're space pirates, and I'll reckon they're on our side. Well, no. Anubis and Bastet are Jurain gods. But, no matter! We've got Drache on our side!"  
  
"And he's important why?"  
  
"He was Kagato's son," Kit said matter-of-factly. "And you killed Kagato. That's a good thing for you. Drache never liked his father."  
  
"Thanks. I feel much better now," Tenchi muttered sarcastically. 'I'm gonna die!' He thought.  
  
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Yee-wow. Fun-ness. Okay peoples! Review, please. Next chapter: We shall find out what becomes of poor ol' Tenchi. Will he die? What about poor pathetic Kit? 


End file.
